[Apple] realized that keeping WebKit closed and exclusively pumping money into it was pointless. So they opened it out...
Webkit started as a fork of KHTML (part of KDE and LGPL licenced) their mishandling of it is a good example of how not to work with open source.
Andriod is another. As Google isn't developing it in public they're carrying the full cost. And their re-creating of userland libraries to avoid the LGPL is pretty much the opposite of your argument (though possibly inherited from before Google bought Android).
Aside from your examples I agree with your point. It's similar to one Doctorow makes in Makers that everything turns into a commodity after a few years and it doesn't make you money anymore. However it can still act as a barrier of entry so examples like Chadaustin's can still make sense if maintenance costs don't dominate.
Chrome OS might be a better example of a project created to commodify. No-one sells a browser but Microsoft still makes a lot of money selling desktop OS's. Unlike Android they don't seem to have any market goals for themselves.
Ironically Chrome OS is Ubuntu (and Chrome is based on Webkit) so they are also examples where commodification has already happened.
Webkit started as a fork of KHTML (part of KDE and LGPL licenced) their mishandling of it is a good example of how not to work with open source.
Andriod is another. As Google isn't developing it in public they're carrying the full cost. And their re-creating of userland libraries to avoid the LGPL is pretty much the opposite of your argument (though possibly inherited from before Google bought Android).
Aside from your examples I agree with your point. It's similar to one Doctorow makes in Makers that everything turns into a commodity after a few years and it doesn't make you money anymore. However it can still act as a barrier of entry so examples like Chadaustin's can still make sense if maintenance costs don't dominate.